The Open Studies baccalaureate major is designed to give highly motivated, self-directed students an opportunity to create their own programs and earn an undergraduate degree. It is a liberal-education program designed for students who wish to major in an interdisciplinary area with a coherency of design.
Students seeking the Open Studies degree will select three academic areas in which to concentrate their work and will arrange for a faculty advisor in each of those areas to oversee their work in each area. The areas of study must represent three distinct academic disciplines at Minnesota State University. The student must file a plan of study that provides a reason for choosing these areas of study and that demonstrates why the proposed work cannot be accomplished under the usual major-and-minor(s) format at MSU.

Admission Requirements

Student must have a current, cumulative GPA of 2.80 or higher, according to MSU records.

Student should apply after earning a minimum of 32 semester credits and before completing 80 semester credits, according to MSU records. Student having more than 80 credits may still be considered for the Open Studies program if they are willing to meet all other requirements of the program.

Student must submit a formal application on a form provided by the Open Studies director.

Other Requirements

The Open Studies major must:

Maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.80.

Apply grades of A, B and C to the three required academic areas in the major. No P/NC credits will apply to courses in the three areas unless specific courses are offered only on a P/NC basis.

Complete the university's general-education program.

Complete at least 64 upper-division semester credits.

Complete a minimum of 15 semester credits of study in each of the three selected academic areas of concentration. A faculty advisor in each area must be willing to serve on a committee with the Open Studies director to oversee the student's work.

Complete a capstone project synthesizing the areas of concentration. The completed project must be acceptable to members of the student's committee.

Academic Bulletin

A full description of the program including class listings and class descriptions are listed in the Academic Bulletin.